Battery shortage leaves Compal forecast flat

Q2 power down

Contract laptop PC maker Compal Electronics Inc has been forced to scale back its Q2 shipment growth forecast, blaming a shortage of batteries.

The Taiwan-based firm, which had expected a climb of 13-15 per cent for the second quarter, said today that it now expects shipments to grow about ten per cent from Q1.

Compal president Ray Chen gave the forecast at an investor meeting, according to Reuters. He also said that, despite the battery shortage, the company, which supplies the likes of Dell and Hewlett-Packard, expects Q2 revenue to be up five to ten per cent from the previous three months.

Last month some of the world’s leading computer vendors admitted that a worldwide shortage of laptop batteries would impact prices, shipments and sales.

Dell, HP and Asustek all grumbled about the kink in the supply chain, which was caused in part by a fire on 3 March at South Korea's LG Chem factory, where some laptop batteries are manufactured.

Meanwhile, an exec from the world's largest independent notebook maker said last Friday that the battery shortage should ease in the third quarter.

"The LG Chem problem has had a big impact on supplies, but we're working with customers and they understand," said Simplo Technology chairman Sung Fu-hsang, who was speaking at the firm's investor conference.

He said he expects to see the supply of lithium-ion return to a normal level in the third quarter, giving battery makers a much needed leg-up to significantly increase production. ®